Dough

This cream cheese pastry recipe is as simple to make as it is versatile. Tender, flaky, and delicious, it’s perfect for quiches, tarts, and even rugelach.

This pie dough is wonderfully versatile, and cookbook author Ken Haedrich uses it for both sweet and savory pies. It has great flavor, flaky texture, and is easy to handle.

Though the amount of salt may seem excessive, a lot of the salt will be lost when the mixture is steamed inside the tamal wrapping. You can reduce the amount somewhat, but remember that the particular flavor of masa in tamales is complemented by salt.

Barley flour, cornmeal, and a hint of grapefruit juice make this easy pie crust extra flavorful. Try it with this Blueberry-Nectarine Lattice Pie.

Use refined coconut oil for a vegan pie crust that's flaky without a noticeable coconut flavor.

This pastel green dough has a very approachable flavor that is a big hit with everyone who tries it. Bonus: Most of us have the ingredients on hand for pea dough at any given time. If you want to make it a little more chartreuse, you can experiment with adding either 1 teaspoon ground turmeric or 1 inch peeled and chopped fresh turmeric root.

For the best results, buy fresh full-cream ricotta. It's available at delicatessens and the deli counter of supermarkets.

Plant-based Earth Balance baking sticks make a wonderful substitute for butter.

Plant-based Earth Balance baking sticks make a wonderful substitute for butter.

I’ve already admitted that I’m usually too lazy to make pizza dough from scratch, what with good, natural brands of prepared crust so widely available. Once in a blue moon, though, I like to indulge; it’s really not that difficult. This is a recipe I’ve relied on for years when those blue moons come along.

This all-butter pie crust relies on a hint of red wine vinegar for balance and it's tenderizing effects.

This simple pizza dough comes together quickly and is perfect for a thin crust pizza like "Trenton Tomato Pie" Pizza. The overnight rest is key for texture and flavor development.

There are three distinct, fundamental steps here: 1) weigh, 2) mix, and 3) chill. Once you've chilled your dough overnight, you can proceed with rolling, panning, pre-baking (if needed), and finishing your pie.

Apple cider helps hydrate the dough without activating too much gluten; the results are ultra-flaky.

This rich buttery dough works as a great gluten-free alternative to classic sugar cookie dough, as well as pie, tart, and bar-cookie crusts. The oat flour gives it a hint of nutty flavor, while the cream cheese lends body and makes it easy to roll out.

This dough is remarkably easy to work with and is a striking shade of mahogany.

This pizza dough recipe can be made with storebought active dry yeast or fresh yeast. It makes enough for two 12-inch pizzas. For the best flavor and texture, be sure to stash the the dough in your refrigerator for at least 24 and up to 48 hours before using.

Fresh pineapple conjures up images of sunshine, so what better way to cheer up a winter day than with a galette made with golden yellow wedges layered over buttery pastry? Today's pineapples tend to be quite sweet, so just a hint of cinnamon and sugar is all you'll need to bring out their bright flavor.

This is our go-to gluten-free pie crust; it crisps up beautifully and tastes fantastic. We also use this recipe for hand pies and tarts, and we even roll leftovers into little snake shapes, toss them in cinnamon sugar and bake them into little golden cookies. Before you begin, make sure all of your ingredients are refrigerated (or, in the case of the cream cheese and butter, frozen) to ensure that the crust holds its shape and turns flaky once baked.

Here is a starter I use frequently in my restaurants. My poolish follows the traditional proportions of equal parts water and flour, so its hydration is at 100 percent. In general, unless I specify otherwise, use the same flour in your starter that you will be using in your dough. I always make starters with cold water to slow down the fermentation process for greater flavor complexity. It's helpful to use a clear glass bowl so you can see how well your starter is fermenting.

This is what I'd call the quintessential American pizza dough, inspired by New York-style pizza: medium thin, satisfyingly chewy, and the ideal companion to mozzarella, tomato sauce, and the pizza toppings Americans love best, from pepperoni and sausage to olives, mushrooms, and other vegetables. It's the dough I teach first to new students, and the one I recommend experimenting with because it's so versatile and user-friendly.

As important as it is to develop feel and instinct when making dough, there is a metric formula for making pasta all'uovo. For every 100 grams of flour, use 1 (50- to 55-gram) egg, which corresponds to 1 USDA medium egg.

Whole-wheat flour may be used if desired.

This gluten-free crust is inspired by the very popular gluten-free cakes we've baked at CakeLove for years. Here, I've added freshly ground golden flaxseeds, which add a wonderful, nutty aroma and taste to the dough. The rice flour lends sweetness, and millet is a good substitute for the starch component in flour, but it doesn't do much in the way of binding. That task is left to the tapioca and egg white, which help hold the dough together as you roll it out.